China Imports 475,999 Tone Copper in June

It seems there is no end to China's appetite for copper. According to the new data released by China, the country has imported 475,999 tonnes of unwrought copper and semi-finished copper products in June, compared with 422,666 tonnes in May.

The import volume increased by 174% year on year in June and set another new record. However, China imported 280,000 tonnes of copper scrap in June, 50,000 tonnes less than a month earlier.

In the first six months of this year, China's imports of copper scrap fell 39.8% from 3.22 million tonnes in the corresponding period of 2008. The imports of copper scrap included copper raw materials and copper rods.

The decreasing scrap import was caused by the shrinkage in the overall supply of copper amid the global financial crisis and by the decreasing prices of refined copper relative to copper scrap.

Nevertheless, China's imports of unwrought aluminum and semi-finished aluminum products reached 2.23 million tonnes in the first half, representing a 69% growth.

According to the latest data, China's total trade turnover recorded $946.12 billion in the first half of 2009, down 23.5 per cent year-on-year. Since last November, China has suffered negative growth for 8 consecutive months in export.

Exports dropped 21.4 per cent year on year to $95.41 billion, but the figure was up 7.5 per cent from May. June imports totaled $87.16 billion, down 13.2 per cent year on year, but were up 15.6 per cent from May. During the first half, exports totaled $521.53 billion, a decrease of 21.8 per cent over the same period last year. Imports amounted to $424.59 in the first six months, down 25.4 per cent.

China's export showed signs of recovery in June, but its decrease rate has not fallen remarkably as foreign demand is still weak.

As to the structure of China's export in the first half this year, it is notable that labor-intensive products witnessed a lower decrease rate than the general decrease rate.

As for the import structure, import of bulk energy and raw material commodities including iron ore and crude oil has grown in the first six months this year while the import of manufactured goods declined.

From January to June, China imported 300 million tonnes of iron ore and 90.77 million tonnes of crude oil, up 29.3 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively. Analysts pointed out that it is still too early to make a definite judgment that the China was already on the way to a full recovery despite statistics revealing China's growing demand for bulk energy and raw material commodities thanks to its expanding investment.

China's foreign trade sector now faces unprecedented difficulties and is set to decline in the first half year.